As the 2009-10 regular season draws to a close, the playoff picture in the West remains nearly as difficult to predict as the NCAA Tournament has been this March (you didn’t have Butler and Michigan State in your Final Four, did you?).

Perhaps the only thing that appears a sure thing for the Lakers is that they’ve more than likely locked up the No. 1 seed thanks to a 6.0 game lead on second place Dallas and 6.5 game edge on both Denver and Utah with just nine games to play. In fact, L.A. would need to lose at least six of their nine games to join Dallas with 25 losses and give the Mavs a chance at going undefeated.

It’s just as likely that Memphis (38-25) doesn’t catch San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Portland, all of whom are 9.5 games back of L.A., for the final playoff spot, so these appear to be the eight teams in the mix.

As you can tell, L.A. could realistically play … well … anybody in the first round. The final three teams do (Spurs, Thunder, Blazers) appear the most likely, while OKC and S.A. have far more difficult schedules than does Portland.

Thunder: @ Philly, @ Boston, @ Dallas, Minnesota, @ Utah, Denver, Phoenix, @ Golden State, @ Portland, MemphisNote: Aside from Minny, even their home games are tough, with Denver, Phoenix and Memphis heading into OKC to face a team making its first playoff push.